Is Donald Trump Eroding Democracy in the United States of America?

Donald Trump is a very bad president. It is not just the incompetence; the immaturity, the mental instability, the bromance with Putin--it's government by chaos. Deliberate or incidental--it's an attack upon democracy.

The Statue of Liberty

Is Donald Trump the impending storm that threatens democracy in America.. | Source

A Little Background on Democracy

Let’s begin with a brief description of democracy. The United States did not invent democracy. The first known democracy began in the fifth century BCE in the Greek city-state of Athens. It lasted, in various forms and with brief interruptions, for about eight centuriesuntil Athens was conquered by the Macedonians in 338 CE.

Democracy gives the people of a country a say in how they are governed. The United States is not a pure democracy; it is a democratic republic. The people vote for representatives who are empowered to govern.

The Constitution of the United States provides for a system of governance in broad terms. The Constitution sought to provide “checks and balances” by instituting three co-equal branches of government—the President, the Congress, and the Judiciary.

Within the Constitutional framework, laws are written and voted on by the elected representatives. The representatives are supposed to act on behalf of their constituents and pass laws for their benefit. (Unfortunately, too many of these elected representatives do not consistently govern in accordance with the will of the people. They manage to get reelected nonetheless, but that is another story.)

The Fragility of Democracy

Democracy is fragile. It depends on good will from all and informed choices by all. Democracy is very vulnerable to demagogues. A demagogue is a charismatic person who can exploit prejudice and ignorance in order to whip up emotions and sway people to forgo reasoned deliberation.

The founders of the United States were afraid that a demagogue who was unqualified and unsuited for the presidency could win over the masses. Consequently, they created the Electoral College as a check on the masses. People vote for Electors who then vote for president. Unfortunately, almost from the start, electors pledged themselves to one candidate and did not act as an independent check.

Benjamin Franklin feared that a demagogue could destroy democracy. When he was asked what form of government the United States has, he replied, “A republic if you can keep it.”

More recently President John Kennedy echoed the same concerns when he said, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy threatens the security of all.”

The Importance of Voting

Democracy is most vital when people vote. In the 2016 presidential election, the one which made Donald Trump president, only about 58% of eligible voters actually cast a ballot. (This was a 20-year low in turnout.) Trump got 46% of this vote.

A president who has been chosen by only 27% of the people cannot be said to be representative of all the people. (Also, because of the outdated Electoral College, Trump became president by narrowly winning a few states which gave him the needed Electoral College votes despite having nearly three million fewer people vote for him than for his opponent, Hillary Clinton, who won 48% of the vote. But that is another story.)

Currently in the United States, many states have “early voting” which lasts, in some cases for weeks, and most allow mail-in ballots. There really is no excuse for not voting

Your Vote Counts

Democracy is most vital when people vote | Source

Fascism

The most often cited examples of fascism are Italy under the dictator Mussolini and Germany under the dictator Hitler in the years immediately after WW I until the end of WW II. The United States has not become a dictatorship, but it is troubling to see how many fascistic elements are seeping into the government since Donald Trump assumed the presidency.

Fascismis a governmental system led by a dictator who has complete power and who forcibly suppresses opposition and criticism, regiments all industry and commerce, uses the power of the state to enforce what he calls “law and order,” and emphasizes an aggressive nationalism, often accompanied by racism.

The dictator has an authoritarian personality which makes people think he is a strong leader. He wins political elections because he is admiredby the people who expect him to make life better for them. Donald Trump’s campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again.”

Democratic institutions (the aforementioned checks and balances) are preventing Trump from becoming the dictator he would obviously like to be, but his policies have many fascist qualities.

The Trump administration has begun to roll back civil rights and uses the term “law and order” frequently, a term that many believe is code for anti-black sentiments.

Trump hates Mexicans and Muslims (just as Hitler hated Jews).They both have used hated of "the other” and made “the other” a scapegoat for all the problems of the country. As a consequence, hate crimes have increased markedly since Trump’s election.

Trump made “America First” one of his campaign slogans—a clear appeal to nationalism.

When a group of Neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, VA, and after one of their group drove his car into a group of peaceful counter- protesters killing a young woman and injuring many others, Donald Trump supported these hate-groups saying that they included many "fine people."

Trump is trying to suppress opposition by threatening to shut down the mainstream media and accusing them of disseminating “fake news.”

Trump's America

Plutocracy

A plutocracy is a form of oligarchy. It means government by the few. In practice, the moneyed class—the top 1% (as they are called)—rule the country. It is not the government of Abraham Lincoln who notably said the U.S. was a government government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Trump’s government is of the few, by the few, and for the few.

Just about all of Trump’s cabinet and political appointees are billionaires and multi-millionaires, and most are completely unqualified for the positions they now hold. There is a lot of evidence that they are motivated by their desire to further their own business interests and increase the wealth of the moneyed class.

Kakistocracy

Kakistocracy is government “by the worst.” It is a pejorative term. This term was first usedby the English author Thomas Love Peacock in 1829. It was meant to be the opposite of aristocracy, the form of government Peacock apparently thought was best.

Trump himself has no political experience and lacks the temperament to be the leader of the greatest country on Earth. But, instead of recognizing his weaknesses and surrounding himself with “the best and the brightest” (a term from the era of President Kennedy), he chose the worst. The people he has chosen often have no experience and actually want to destroy the area of government they are supposed to be managing.

Trump, during his campaign, promised to “drain the swamp,” a phrase that meant he would rid government of corruption. Instead the swamp now has more alligators than ever, and they are better fed than ever before.

Kleptocracy

Kleptocracy comes from a Greek word meaning “to steal” and it is the root of the English word kleptomaniac. A kleptocracy is a government of thieves.

Donald Trump has not divested himself from his worldwide business empire, and every day we see new information that shows how he is using the presidency for his own financial benefit. When the money comes from foreign entities, it puts him in violation of the “emoluments clause” (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) of the U.S. Constitution which is an impeachable offense.

Trump, the Phony

Trump campaigned to make America great, but is a phony who is only out for himself? | Source

Government by Chaos

Trump seems to have invented a new form of government--government by chaos. Perhaps he finds chaos exciting or useful, or perhaps it is just a result of his incompetence.

There is a lot of infighting among his inner circle. There are constant leaks as his staff tries to gain power over other staff-members.

Trump seems to have no policies. When he speaks without a teleprompter, he apparently just says whatever pops into his head. He has been known to contradict himself three times in one day.

He sold himself as a great deal-maker, yet he seems incapable of getting anything done outside of signing executive orders. The “repeal and replace Obamacare” bill failed because Republicans would not vote for it. He was unable to negotiate with the members of his own Republican party.

Trump insults our allies. Angela Merkel is essentially the leader of Europe. He pointedly refused to shake her hand and made a joke at her expense in public in front of her. She was not amused.

Our trading partners are finding new markets for their goods, as Mexico is currently doing. They feel the U.S. is too unstable.

Trump lies constantly. And not just the ordinary political lies—giant whoppers—without a grain of truth. No one knows what to believe anymore. Plus, when his lies are exposed, he just doubles down and tells more lies in an attempt to make the first lies seem true.

Trump Lies

Trump piles lie upon lie. He gets more pants-on- fire ratings from the independent fact-checking organization, Politifact, than any other politician. | Source

A Dangerous Time for America

An American president is under investigation by the FBI while serving as president! Trump and his associates are being investigated for possible collusion with a foreign power, Russia, to undermine the American democracy.

Further, many of Trump’s advisors and cabinet members have very close associations with the Russians. For instance, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who apparently has no idea how to do his job, but is very chummy with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Many people think that Putin is blackmailing Trump. Perhaps Trump owes money to Russian banks. Perhaps the blackmail is of a more personal nature.

Could we have a Russian mole in the White House?

If you are not frightened for the survival of American democracy, you are not paying attention.

Comments

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Catherine Giordano 9 months agofrom Orlando Florida

Walter Goon: Thanks for your comment. Attacks against the free press is one of the hallmarks of a dictator. In Russia, journalists are killed. So far, in the U.S. they just get called "enemies" and attacked for purveying "fake news"

Walter Goon 9 months ago

Since the beginning, Trump's verbal stoning of the free press, calling them "enemies of the people," and his aggressive blockage of reporters trying to ask questions has greatly disturbed me as has his bombast and ignorance. Also, his refusal to compromise or represent all of the people makes me believe he is a budding dictator with no way to get around a paralyzed legislative branch. Hail Caesar!

Author

Catherine Giordano 13 months agofrom Orlando Florida

Thank you very much for your comment Ms. Dora. Informative, insightful and helpful--I think that means I accomplished my goals for this piece.

Dora Weithers 13 months agofrom The Caribbean

Catherine, I do not have a comment as powerful as the others, but I want you to know that your article is informative and insightful, and therefore helpful.

Author

Catherine Giordano 13 months agofrom Orlando Florida

PeoplePower73: Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree with you about the attack on Syria being more about PR than military objectives. I also agree that talk is cheap (as the cliche goes) and nothing is easy and done quickly in foreign relations. Trump is all about manipulating public opinion. I think he saw his poll numbers sink to the low 30's, and he thought bombing something would make him look like a strong leader.

Mike Russo 13 months agofrom Placentia California

This is an excellent work and very informative. I especially like the descriptions of the different forms of governing. I thought about Trump working with Putin to bomb a Syria airfield. I think his attack on a minor airfield was just Tokenism. It really is not going to have much of an effect on anything.

I think he maybe beginning to realize that the mid-east and all its sectarian entanglements with the Shia, Sunni, and Kurds is much more complex than taking out ISIS in his first 30 days in office. It's like Jello, you push it in one place and it jiggles in another place.

I believe Trump is more about creating perceptions that sell his actions to his supporters. He calls it "Truthful Hyperbole." That is from his book, The Art of the Deal. In his mind, he doesn't see it as lying.

Author

Catherine Giordano 13 months agofrom Orlando Florida

FlourishAnyway: Some are speculating that the whole Syria thing was cooked up between Trump and Russia. Russia gets Syria to use poison gas, and then Trump can make a big show of bombing an airfield. Then Russia pretends to be angry. Now Trump gets a boost in the polls (because Americans love war-time presidents); it looks like Trump is opposing Russia; and all the news shows are too busy talking about the attack to talk about the Trump-Russian collusion. Thanks for your comment. Have you done a playlist about war yet?

FlourishAnyway 13 months agofrom USA

Shame on those who didn't vote and those who threw their vote away with a write-in or third party protest vote. It was a two-way race and now we have this ninny. I agree 100% with everything you've said here. I also wonder if bombing Syria was in part motivated by his desire to change the dialogue.

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